In the 1920s, Jindřich Štyrský (1899—1942) was one of the foremost members of the avant-garde art union Devětsil. For several years, he lived in Paris with the artist Toyen. After returning to Prague, he worked for the Liberated Theatre and published the Erotic Revue and Edition 69. In 1934, together with a number of his friends, he co-founded the Surrealist Group of Czechoslovakia. His photographic series A Man with Blinkers, Frog Man (both 1934) and A Paris Afternoon (1935) capture what are seemingly banal themes from everyday life. Many of the pictures show old, damaged, decaying items. “For him... reality becomes a tormenting and cruel phantom...” (Karel Teige).

The book in Italian was published by the Fotomuseo Giuseppe Panini in Modena and the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Modena in collaboration with the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague to accompany the exhibition held in Fotomuseo Giuseppe Panini in Modena from the 12th of December 2009 to the 28th February 2010.